Quality of Life in Patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies

• Published in: Behavioural neurology Vol. 2018; no. 2018; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Liao, Yu-Lu, Lin, Hui-Chi, Cheng, Shih-Jung, Lee, Chuo-Yu, Chen, Pei-Hao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2018; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Age; Aged; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Alzheimer's disease; Care and treatment; Caregivers; Chronic illnesses; Cognitive ability; Comparative analysis; Delusions - psychology; Dementia; Female; Geriatrics; Humans; Lewy Body Disease - psychology; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Mental depression; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Patients; Quality of life; Quality of Life - psychology; Review; Systematic review; Taiwan
• ISSN: 0953-4180; 1875-8584
• DOI: 10.1155/2018/8320901

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a complex, multisymptom disorder. When making decisions regarding the treatment of DLB, the patient’s quality of life (QoL) should always be the main consideration. To our knowledge, this is the first review article focusing on the QoL in DLB patients. We searched the PubMed database using the keywords “quality of life” and “dementia with Lewy bodies.” Previously, no specific instrument had been developed for assessing the QoL in DLB patients. Patients with DLB have a decreased QoL compared to patients with Alzheimer’s disease, which is reportedly caused by several factors including level of independence in instrumental activities of daily living, whether the patient is living with the caregiver, apathy, delusion, and dysautonomia. The direct effect of visual hallucination, sleep, and movement disorders on the QoL in DLB patients has not been previously studied. The role of cognitive function on the QoL is still controversial. In a randomized controlled study, memantine may improve the QoL in PDD or DLB patients. We concluded that it is important to develop a specific instrument to assess the QoL in DLB patients. Furthermore, there is an urgent need for large clinical trials to identify factors associated with the QoL and how they can be managed.